This best and EASY crispy rice dumpling recipe is so DELISH! All you need is store-bought dumpling wrappers and a simple rice mixture.
How do you like your dumplings? I love mine pan-fried, fried, steamed, or boiled. Each has its own unique tasty texture that lures me into the next bite after the first.
Making dumplings at home is really easy especially with the abundance of dumpling wrapper options at the stores. The 3 main ingredients used to make the wrapper is just flour, salt, and water, so most dumpling wrappers are vegan. If you are not near a store, give my Crispy Bottom Potstickers or Lacy Potstickers recipe a try with a homemade wrapper.
As for the filling, I like a simple vegetable sautéed with tofu or use salt to draw out the vegetable’s moisture. You can check out this method from th Sheng Jian Bao (Pan-fried steamed buns) recipe.
Today, you’ll also see how to make dumplings using store-bought wrappers that don’t require any pleating – YUP! Let’s get started…
Key Step for Thin Crispy Dumpling
Thin wrapper – Generally, store-bought dumpling wrappers are quite thin and come in 3″ diameter rounds. But, they can be thinner with 2 simple rolling methods below that create a crispy texture once it’s cooked through.
Method 1: Lay a dumpling wrapper on a chopping board. Brush the top surface with a thin layer of oil. Then, lay another dumpling wrapper on top and repeat with a layer of oil. Stack about 4-5 dumpling wrappers together.
Using a rolling pin, press to adhere the wrappers. With light pressure, roll out the dough thinly to about 5″-6″ in diameter.
Method 2 (Steps below): Similar to the above method but without using oil. This method works best when you stack at least 3 dumpling wrappers together. You can also dust some cornstarch on the working surface and rolling pin to prevent the wrappers from sticking together.
How to Make Crispy Rice Dumpling
As mentioned, this is a simple dumpling recipe and uses my leftover veggies and cooked rice for the filling.
Step 1: Make the filling and sauce
First, sauté tofu and carrot for a minute or so. If you are using fresh tofu, then cook the tofu first until golden brown before continuing with the rest of the ingredients.
Once the carrot is fully cooked through, add the broccoli stems and corn. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar.
Toss everything until well-combined and add the cooked rice. Swirl in the soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, then turn off the heat. Toss and stir all the ingredients until the rice fully absorbs the soy sauce.
Taste test and season accordingly, if needed. Set this mixture aside to cool down.
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To make a simple sauce, whisk together Thai sweet chili sauce and lime juice until well-combined. Then, top it with chopped cilantro. This is one of my favorite dipping sauce combos for hotpot, summer rolls, and spring rolls.
Step 2: Roll and fold the dumplings
This recipe works great with any dumpling wrappers except gyoza as these tend to be thinner. The rule of thumb here is to roll it out to as thin as you can without breaking it.
I’ve tried rolling out 1 wrapper at a time and it didn’t have enough friction to do so. I find that stacking 3-4 dumpling wrappers together work the best.
Once you’ve roll out the wrapper, carefully peel each one off.
Lay a wrapper on a work surface and dab the edges with water. Add a heaping spoonful of filling on the bottom of the wrapper.
Roll it up like a spring roll and place the sealed side down. Repeat until you are done with the all the filing mixture. This recipe yields 30 small dumplings.
Step 3: Cook the dumplings
Brush a thin layer of oil on a heated 12″ non-stick skillet. With the sealed side down, arrange the dumplings in one layer, slightly apart.
Cover the skillet with a lid and over low heat, cook the dumplings for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Peek occasionally to prevent burning the wrapper.
Uncover, and brush a layer of oil on top of the dumplings before flipping over.
Cover and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. The dumplings will puff up a little during cooking.
Transfer dumplings to a plate once both sides turned golden brown. Serve the dumplings with the prepared sauce and ENJOY!
Easy Crispy Dumpling Cooking Tips
1. Finely chop the ingredients – These dumplings are tiny, so the smaller the ingredients the better. Plus, they will bind together better.
2. Rice – This recipe is inspired by my original Sticky rice roll wrapped and Cabbage Wrap. Instead of using sticky rice, I decided to make it using sushi rice which is generally more starchy compared to other long grain rice.
3. Dumpling Wrapper – I used a store-bought dumpling wrapper and rolled them thinner before adding the filling.
Why You Need this Easy Crispy Dumpling
- No pleating needed
- Delicious filling of rice and vegetables
- Easily customizable
- Crispy on the outside
- Flavorful on the inside
- Perfect finger food or meal by itself
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear your feedback and see your beautiful re-creation. Leave me a comment, rate it, and tag @woon.heng and #woonheng to your photos on Instagram or Facebook. Happy cooking, friends!
Crispy Rice Dumpling – No pleating needed
Ingredients
- 30 dumpling wrapper
- 3 oz tofu cut into tiny cubes
- 1 small carrot about 3 tablespoons chopped
- ¾ cups chopped broccoli stem
- 3 tablespoons frozen corn
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed
- oil for cooking
Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Thai sweet chile sauce
- Juice of ¼ lime
- a handful of chopped cilantro
Instructions
Prepare the filling
- To make the filling, heat a non-stick skillet and add about ½ tablespoon of oil.
- Sauté carrot and tofu until tofu turns golden brown. Then, add the broccoli stem, corn and continue to stir-fry for another 30 seconds or so. Increase the cooking time if you prefer a softer broccoli texture. Season with salt, sugar, and ground pepper.
- Turn the heat to low and add the cooked rice along with the soy sauce and toasted sesame oil.
- Using the back of the spatula, lightly press the rice and toss everything together until well-combined. Try to coat the rice evenly with the sauce. Taste test and season if needed. Turn off the heat and set it aside to cool down.
Prepare the sauce
- To make the sauce, whisk together Thai sweet chile sauce and lime juice until well-combined. Garnish with a handful of chopped cilantro.
Make and Cook the dumplings
- Prepare the dumpling wrapper: Take about 3 dumpling wrappers and place them on a work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it out to about 5″-6″ in diameter or as thin as you can without breaking them apart.
- Carefully unpeel each one and set side. Cover the thin wrapper with a cloth to prevent them from drying out while you work on the rest.
- Fill a small bowl with water and another small bowl with oil.
- Now, uncover a wrapper and dab the edges with water. Place a heaping spoonful of filling on the wrapper.
- Lift the bottom wrapper up and fold over the filling. Then, fold the left and right of the wrappers to the middle while securing the filling underneath. Roll it up to meet the top and seal.
- To cook the dumplings, brush a thin layer of oil on a heated non-stick skillet.
- Fill the skillet with dumplings in one single layer slightly apart. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes over low-medium heat. Peek occasionally to avoid burning the wrapper.
- Once the bottom of the dumplings turns golden brown, brush a layer of oil on top before flipping over.
- Cover and continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes. The dumplings will start to puff up a little during cooking.
- Once both sides are crispy, remove and serve with the prepared dipping sauce.
Video
Feel free to pin the below picture on your Pinterest Board for easy reference.
I love the look of these and will make them next time I have some rice left overs, am getting hungry just thinking about it! Thank you for sharing!
Many thanks, Petra!
can you use a wonton wrapper?
Yes, you can Karen. Wonton wrapper can be rolled out thinner as well. 🙂 Let me know if you need anything else. Best, WoonHeng
Could I use rice paper to make this recipe? It looks so good… although I cannot eat gluten
Hi Ummul, yes, you can. You’ll soften the rice paper first and then add the filling. Happy cooking! Sincerely, WoonHeng